The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:10b, NIV)
Several years ago I found myself at Bandon Dunes in Oregon. If you have yet to get there, let me just say that it is a golfer’s dreamland. And since my last trip, they’ve added both another full course and a short course. You’d better plan three or four days at least!
One memory I have from that trip is the moment my caddie said these four funny words to me: “Aim at the moon.”
It is the Spirit who knows the thoughts of God and gives understanding of those thoughts to us.To make sense of this, you have to understand that in true links fashion, Bandon’s coastal courses have few trees. It can be hard to point out a line at times—and a line is crucial when the fairways are canted and the ball can roll well away from where you’ve hit it. It was in a situation like this when my caddie picked the daytime moon as my line and told me to hit it in that direction.
Directions are critical in any life endeavor, and it is most helpful to have someone exceedingly knowledgeable to help point the way.
In the life of one who believes in Jesus, this knowledgeable someone is the Holy Spirit. As a member of the three-in-one Godhead, he is of course infinitely knowledgeable and capable of dispensing whatever information or awareness that God deems necessary for the next steps of our life.
In Romans 8:14, we find impetus for desiring to be led by the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote: “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” When we surrender our course to the leading of the Spirit, we are functioning as full-fledged members of God’s family. This is the same passage where God’s children are identified as “co-heirs with Christ.” Heady stuff! If we want to come alongside Christ in faith, we must let ourselves be led by the Spirit.
After this impetus, we find confirmation that the Spirit is the one to do the leading when we open our eyes to Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2. There he explains that it is the Spirit who knows the thoughts of God and that the Spirit gives understanding of those thoughts to us. When this happens, we speak words that are Spirit-given and live a life that is Spirit-driven. Stunningly, this happens because in the Spirit we are given the mind of Christ!
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Jeff Hopper
April 29, 2016
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.